Liquid crystal displays are commonly used as display devices for compact electronic apparatuses, not only because they provide good quality images but also because they are very thin. Liquid crystal in a liquid crystal display does not emit any light itself. The liquid crystal requires a light source so as to be able to clearly and sharply display text and images. Therefore, a typical liquid crystal display requires an accompanying backlight module.
Referring to FIG. 6, a typical backlight module 1 includes a diffusing film 130, a plurality of EEFLs 110, and a reflective film 120 arranged in that order from top to bottom. Each EEFL 110 includes a linear main body 112, two electrodes 114 arranged at two opposite ends thereof, and two conductive wires (not labeled) connected to the electrodes 114, respectively. The conductive wires are generally connected to the electrodes 114 by a soldering method, which is generally time-consuming. Moreover, the soldered conductive wires are liable to fall off from the electrodes 114 in normal uses, which may result in a poor reliability of the EEFL 110 and the corresponding backlight module 1.
What is needed, therefore, is an EEFL that can overcome the described limitations, as well as a backlight module employing the EEFL.